The Charm of The Grove and Ole Miss Tailgating

Every school has its tailgating traditions, but few can match the Old South charm found in the Grove, a 10-acre plot just outside Vaught-Hemingway Stadium, where thousands of Ole Miss fans gather to tailgate. Tents are adorned with chandeliers, while food is spread out on fine, white tablecloths and served on china dishes with silverware.

Ole Miss tailgating has gained such a reputation that in 2011 alone, it was featured in “The New York Times,” “Parade" magazine and on ESPN "CollegeGameday," the Weather Channel and Travel Channel.

An Ole Miss Convert

Chris Price, an Ole Miss alumnus, grew up a hardcore fan of the Louisiana State University Tigers. He bled purple and gold. So it came as a shock to his father when Price announced that he wanted to go to the University of Mississippi, better known as Ole Miss, one of LSU’s rivals in the Southeastern Conference.

Price said the decision was easy after he visited the Ole Miss campus in 1994, during his senior year of high school. The university invited prospective students to attend a football game -- and instructed them to bring a suit and tie if they wanted to go to the game. Price thought it was a setup.

“I was like, ‘You’re kidding me. I’m about to get punked.’ Seriously, I didn’t want to show up and be the only one in a coat and tie and hear everyone laugh and say, ‘What did you get so dressed up for?’” Price said. “But I get out there on a Saturday morning and everyone was dressed up.”

Price recalled the first time he laid eyes on the Grove. “I was just blown away by the atmosphere.” What he found was a sprawling tent city, where instead of jeans, jerseys and sneakers, male inhabitants of this bizarre tailgating world wore slacks, sport coats and loafers, while women wore cocktail dresses and heels.

“It was almost like 'The Twilight Zone',” Price added.

The Hidden Dangers of the Grove

Tailgating in the Grove at Ole Miss is one of the seminal traditions in college sports, but it also comes with its fair share of danger.

Except for the perimeter, open flame barbecues are prohibited in the Grove because of the fire hazard they would pose surrounded by hundreds of flammable tents. Instead of grilling, people have their tailgating parties catered by restaurants or bring prepared food.

The summer heat can also be an issue. Students are so devoted to dressing up for the games that in hot weather Dean Thomas "Sparky" Reardon is forced to remind them that when it is 95 degrees there’s no need to wear a coat and tie.

“We don’t want them getting a heat stroke,” said Mitchell Diggs, associate director of media and public relations at the university. “We’ve managed to get the students to have more common sense but it can be hard because people do dress to be seen here.”

And that leads to the final, fashion-inspired threat facing die-hard Rebel fans -- high heels.

“It’s one thing to wear loafers to the games,” said alumnus Chris Price. “Don’t get me wrong, I got plenty of blisters. But could you imagine standing not only for three hours during the football game, but also standing for hours in the Grove before and after all day in heels like all of the girls do? It’s kind of funny, but at the same time it shows how special the experience is that they would do that to themselves.”

What Ole Miss Tailgaiting Isn't

In September, “Tailgater Monthly” magazine named Ole Miss the No. 1 tailgating school in the country. The Oxford, Mississippi-based university stands out because its tailgating is concentrated in a small area as opposed to being spread out across campus. But it’s also famous for what it’s not: a big outdoor fraternity party where half-naked people in body paint funnel cheap beer.

“Ole Miss tends to be more refined. It’s definitely not an Oakland Raiders game,” said Loyd McIntosh, a writer for “Tailgater Monthly.” “There’s a level of pride they take in their literary past -- like William Faulkner, who lived there.”

There’s also a general feeling that a loss on the field will not damper the festivities outside the stadium, best exemplified in the unofficial motto of the Grove, “We may not win every game, but we’ve never lost a party.”

“They’ve turned the pregame ritual into the actual event because they know on the gridiron they probably won’t win,” McIntosh added.

The Grove events used to be just like most other tailgating parties. People would park their cars on the field, pop their trunks, crack a beer and eat hot dogs, said Mitchell Diggs, associate director of media and public relations.

But everything changed starting in the late '70s when there was a torrential rainstorm during the game. When everyone returned to their cars, they were axle-deep in mud. The school brought in tractors to pull the trapped vehicles out of the muck.

A few years later, another rainstorm threatened, so school officials prohibited cars from parking in the Grove. But, as it turned out, it didn’t rain on game day. The weather was beautiful and people realized how much better it was to tailgate without all of the cars. They could enjoy the open green space, walk around and play football with their children.

“That was the start of the Grove becoming the tailgating Mecca it is now,” Diggs said. “It was very controversial at the time, but once they got out there, they realized it was so much better.”

Why It's Special

"The Grove’s biggest draw is its sense of community," Price said. On any given Saturday, former Ole Miss legends like quarterbacks Archie and Eli Manning, or running back Deuce McAllister, can be seen wandering through the crowd.

It’s also a place of tradition. Families have been setting up their tents in the same exact spots for decades. If an Ole Miss alum hasn’t been to a game in 10 years, when he returns, he will know exactly where to find his friends, Price said.

And theft is never a problem. “People just walk right over to the stadium and leave everything behind. And it doesn’t get messed with,” Price added. “People don’t rifle through your stuff. After the game ends, people walk right back to the Grove and start tailgating again.”

That genteel feeling that permeates the Grove is even extended to visiting rivals.

“At LSU games, the music is blaring and you’re just getting hammered and screaming and hootin’ and hollerin’, giving every opposing fan walking by hell,” said Brad Vickers, co-owner of Southern Traditional Tailgating, a party services company that provides for Ole Miss, LSU and Mississippi State.

At Ole Miss, it’s the exact opposite.

“You turn down the music, chill out and if someone from the other team is coming by, you don’t hoot and holler at them. You invite them in for a drink. It’s more of a gentleman’s type tailgating. The fans are just courteous,” added Vickers.

Ole Miss also has one other thing going for it. “I mean, southern women, c’mon,” McIntosh said, laughing. “Mississippi has its fair share of them, and that’s part of the appeal.”

After graduating from Ole Miss in 1999, Price returned to his home in New Orleans for a year where he taught at Rummel High School. Then Ole Miss signed Eli Manning to play quarterback in 2000 and Price figured it was a good time to return to school.

“I thought I could use a graduate degree,” Price said. “So I went back to Ole Miss and got one -- and watched Eli Manning play football.”